Findings from a field study of urban microclimate in Korea using mobile meteorological measurements

Purpose First, the contributions of spatial characteristics to microclimate were analyzed. And the results from mobile measurements were compared to those from fixed measurements to examine accuracy of mobile method. Air temperature and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) profiles were plotted to explore the impacts of the spatial characteristics of that urban square and local street. Design/methodology/approach This research investigates the effects of urban canyons and landscape on air temperature and outdoor thermal comfort in an open square in Seoul, Korea, a city of diverse thermal environments. Mobile field measurements were carried out to obtain local meteorological data based on higher spatial resolution. Findings On a day in October under clear sky, air temperature and PET differences of up to 1.77 °C and 9.6 °C were observed at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. These were mainly from the impact of shading effects caused by surrounding obstacles. The current layout and volume of vegetation in the square seemed not effective for reducing air temperature and improving thermal comfort, which needs further study. Originality/value The authors tested a way to investigate time delay when using mobile measurements by correcting measured local data using adjacent meteorological observatory data. The findings of and limitations on mobile station-based field measurement and analysis are discussed herein.